Electric iron



May 29, 1934. wI K', Voss 1,960,424

ELECTRIC' IRON Filed Sept. 24, 1931 juf/@afar um y Patented May 29,- 1934 1,960,424 ELECTRIC moN Walter K. Voss, Davenport, Iowa Application september 24, 1931, sci-iai No. 564,836 7 claims. (c1. ca -26) This invention relates to electrically heated irons for laundry purposes and has as its general aim the provision of a simpledevice of this character which is capable of performing its I ironing function with great efficiency.

An object of the invention is to provide an electric iron of novel construction and arrange-- ment of parts which embodies an ironing surface having a driven moving part of substantial l by in the traverse of the ironing surface a manifold ironing effect is obtained.

Another object resides in the provision, in an electric iron, of an ironing surface comprising two coplanar sections, one section being stationary.with the iron structure, the other section being adapted for driven rotary movement on an axis perpendicular to the plane of the ironing surface.

In conjunction with the foregoing objects another cbject is to provide an iron of this character which is a self-contained portable unit and which may be readily adaptedV for use inthe ordinary manner whenever desired.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a. central vertical section through a device embodying the features of the invenion.

Fig. 2 is a transverse plan section through the device taken along the line 2*-2 oi' Fig. 1.

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, I have shown in the drawing and will herein describe in detail the preferred embodiment. but it is to be understood that I do not thereby intend to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but intend to cover all modifications and alternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope" of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

Broadly, the features of the invention are embodied in a structure which in general resembles the commercially well-known type of ele'ctric iron. However, the base of the iron includes an article-engaging surface which has an ironing movement independent of the operators ried on the structure.

In the drawing, 10 designates generally an ironing base and 11 a frame, casing or shell forming the upper part of the iron and providing, with the base, a hollow structure within which area contacting the article being ironed where-l certain operative parts of the iron are assembled.'

The base in the present instance is bisectional, that is to say, it comprises a front section 12 and a rear section 13 both of which sections have 60 ironing surfaces arranged in coplanar relationship to form a substantially at continuous ironing face. The front section 12 is pointed in the usual manner and is suitably secured, as by means of a screw 14, to the shell 11, the side 65, walls of which are conventionally fashioned to engage a peripheral recess on the front section 12.

The rear section 13 of the base is, in this embodiment, in the form of a circular disk, the front portion of which is receivable in an arcuate, rearwardly facing recess 15 formed in the front section 12. 'Ihe rear section 13 is supported for movement relative to the front section 12. Thus a shaft 16, which may be formed integrally with the section 13, extends axially from said section through a circular bushing 17 provided as a depending part of the shell 11. Antifriction elements 18 are interposed between the l bushing 17 and the shaft 16 for -rcausfnciy sup- 80 porting the rear section 13 from the shell. Assembly of the rear section andthe shaft 16 on the shell is preferably maintained bysuch means as a nut 19 screw-threaded onto the end of the shaft 16 and engaging the adjacent antifriction 35 element 18. If desired, a removable cover plate 19a may be employed to conceal the nut and protect the user from, the rotating assembly on the shaft 16.

Means carried by the shell are provided for rotating the rear section 13. To this end, an annular gear 20 is secured to the inner surface of the rear section 13 by means of screws 21 or the like. y 'Ihe gear 20 meshes with a gear 22 carried by the armature shaft 23 cf an electric mcccr, 95 which is indicated generally at 24.

The motor may be suitably supported on the shell in the following manner: A bracket 25, secured on the upper surface of the shell 11 by screws 26, has upturned front and rear ends 27 100 and 28 respectively. The casing of the motor 24 is rigidly secured to the rear end 28 of the bracket 25 with the armature shaft of the motor disposed on an axis paralleling the axis of the shaft 16. The shell 11 has a transverse wall 30 105 extending rearwardly from the bushing 17, which wall lies adjacent to one end of the motor casing and is apertured, as at 31, to receive the armature bearing 32 at that end of the motor. A handle 29 for the operators hand is mounted be- 1m i element overlies substantially all of the front section 12 and the peripheral portions of the rear section 13, the gear 20 being recessed as at 34 to allow the heating element to extend between the gear and the inner face of the rear section. Thus, with the exception of the axial portion of the rear section 13 (which section will in use become highly heated due to the conductivity of the metal) the entire ironing surface of the base is directly heated.

The electrical circuit by which the device is operated is preferably arranged so that the electric motor may be operated independently of the heating element 33. To this end, leads 35 through a conduit 36 connect terminals 37 in a distributor box 38 with a suitable source of current (not shown). Leads 39 connect the terminals 37 with the ends of the heating element 33. Other leads 40 connect the terminals 37 with the motor winding. A switch 41 of any suitable construction is located'in the distributor box 38 and is interposed in the leads 40 for controlling the flow of electricity to the motor. A switch operator 42 is conveniently accessible for manual manipulation whereby the operator may at his option cause the rear section to be driven.

As a matter of construction, it is preferred that the lower portions of the shell 11 adjacent to the opposite sides of the rear section 13 be cut away. The gap thus formed is closed by an elongated plate 43, the opposite ends of which are received and secured in recesses 44 (Fig. 2) formed in the outer surfaces of the shell. From these points of attachment, the plate extends rearwardly and passes about the iron as at 45. In order to prevent soiling the clothes by oil, and the like, dropping from the motor and its associated parts, the rear portion of the plate 43 carries an integrally formed drip pan 46 arranged to extend from the plate 43 beneath the gears 20, 22 into close abutment with the arcuate rear side of the section 13. The pan 46 has an upturned flange 47 disposed adjacent to the section 13.

An iron rest 48 of suitable construction may be secured to the rear side of the plate 43 and to the casing of the motor 24 for supporting the iron when it is not in use.

The space in the nose of the iron between the shell and the heating element on the base may, if desired, be substantially filled with a mass 49 of metal, heat insulating material, or the like in accordance with the usual practice.

The feature of the invention resides in the efficiency thereof and the ease with which the device operates. It is understood, of course, that in ironing the desired smoothness and finish of an article is produced by moving the iron across the article. The perfection of the nish depends largely upon the number of times the heated ironing surface is passed over or traverses the article.

-Considering that the present device is in use while the rear section is not driven, it will be apparent that the effective ironing surface is limited to the combined area of the front and rear sections. In this condition, theiron resembles prior devices. However, if the rear section is driven, the effective area of the ironing surface is greatly increased by the rotative movement of the section in the plane of the ironing surface. Therefore, a fewer4 number of strokes of an iron having a moving surface will be required than in an iron in which the ironing surface is stationary whereby the ironing eiciency is materially increased. An advantage results from the use of the relatively immovable front section in conjunction with the movable rear section in that said front section preliminarily smoothes the article, thereby conditioning the material for most efficient treatment by the rear section.

I claim as my invention:

1. An iron comprising, in combination, an ironing base having a pointed front section and a relatively movable circular rear section, a frame rigid with said front section and overlying said rear section, a heating unit disposed adjacent to said sections, a shaft on said rear section, means carried by said frame for rotatably supporting said shaft, a motor supported by said frame, and means for drivingly connecting said motor and said rear section.

2. An iron comprising, in combination, an ironing base having a pointed front section and a relatively movable circular rear section, a shell rigid with said front section and overlying said rear section, a heating unit disposed adjacent to said sections, a vertically extending shaft on said rear section, means carried by said shell for rotatably supporting said shaft, a motor supported by said shell, a gear carried by said rear section, and a second gear driven by said motor and in mesh with said rst mentioned gear.

3. An ironing device comprising, in combination, a frame capable of being carried and manipulated in an operators hand, a continuous ironing base having a front section rigid with said frame and a circular rear section rotatably journalled on said frame, and an electric motor carried by said frame and drivingly connected with said rear section.

4. An ironing device having, in combination, a frame capable of being carried and manipulated in an operators' hand, an ironing base comprising a pointed front section secured to said frame and having the rear face thereof formed to provide an arcuate recess, and a circular rear section extending into said recess to provide a substantially continuous ironing surface, the sides of said sections being substantially on a continnous line, means for rotatably supporting said rear section on said frame, and means on said frame for driving said rear section.

5. In an ironing device, the combination of a frame capable of being carried and manipulated in an operators hand, a member mounted on said frame and having an ironing surface, a second member on said frame having an ironing surface arranged to provide with said rst mentioned ironing surface a substantially continuous article engaging face, means for supporting one of said members for movement relative to the other member and to said frame on an axis perpendicular to the plane of said face, and a continuous electrical heating unit extending across both of said members.

6. In an ironing device capable of being held in the operators hand for manipulation, the combination of an ironing base having relatively movable sections presenting a substantially continuous surface for engagement with one side of an article to be ironed, means for driving one of said sections, and means disposed adjacent to the lateral edges of the driven section and extending across the line of division between the two sections for engaging the article and tending to hold it against movement by said driven section.

ably supporting the rear section of said base for movement on a vertical axis, a heating unit in said shell overlying both the x'ed and moving portions of said base, an electric motor supported by said shell, and driving connections between 4said motor and the movable section of said base.

WALTER K. VOSS. 

